Bases for mounting pumping units



Jan. 2, 1968 R, s. HESTAND E A BASES FOR MOUNTING PUMPING UNITS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR RUE 5. HESTAND and JAMES D. BLACK WW fig 1 R. S. HESTAND ET AL BASES FOR MOUNTING PUMPING UNITS Jan. 2, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1964 INVENTOR.

RUE s. HESTAND and JAMES D. BLACK BY'MM Q United States Patent Office Patented Jan. 2, 1968 3,361,399 BASES FOR MOUNTING PUMPING UNITS Rue S. Hestand, Pampa, and James Donald Black, Miami, Tex., assignors to Cabot Corporation, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 338,467 4 Claims. 01. 24819) This invention relates to an improved type of base construction for the mounting of pumping units designed for lifting oil or other liquids out of the ground. It is particularly concerned with such bases having inherently increased stability with reduced requirements as to external foundation and site preparation.

The standard, integral base for an oil well pumping unit is constructed as a steel framework of some sort, usually comprised of several elongated steel beams suitably joined together at several points along their length by cross members. Such integral bases are seldom sumciently stable, as is, to support the unit mounted thereon during its actual operation in the field. Accordingly, the usual arranagement is for the integral base on which the pumping unit is shipped to be anchored solidly into a prepared site, such as a poured concrete foundation or other solid supports embedded in the ground. Sometimes, it has been possible to avoid the use of elaborate foundations or inground support mountings by employing separate auxiliary bases or base support elements, such as prefabricated concrete bases, or Outriggers and/ or base extensions, which could be added to the integral base of the unit at the field site. To a limited extent, units have even been sold with integral bases which were considered self-sufficient for intermittent or'light duty service such as test work and the like, where frequent shifting of the unit from well to well might occur. However, these socalled portable-type units have been generally characterized by relatively wide and/or long base structures, the length of the base, for example, being generally about equal to the height of the samson post of the pumping unit mounted thereon and sometimes greater.

The main object of the present invention is to provide integral base structures for mounting pumping units and like equipment which structures are characterized by improved stability and greater independence from special external site constructions. A more specific object is to provide pumping units of greater versatility and mobility by virtue of their having relatively compact integral base structures which are inherently relatively stable and selfsuflicient without being outsized or unduly long.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious or become apparent in the course of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof as illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a more or less conventional integral base structure for an oil well pumping unit showing a portion of the superstructure mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a separate base structure designed for the integral mounting of a similar pumping unit and embodying the construction of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional View along line 44 of FIG. 2.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the conventional pumping unit base is constructed of a series of elongated steel beams 12 aligned approximately parallel to one another and rigidly held together by a series of cross-beams 14 in conventional fashion, such as by welding or bolting together at junction points. The layout of FIG. 1 indicates how the samson post or frame 16 is mounted on the base 10 so as to serve as the pivot support for the walking beam 18 and associated working elements of the pumping unit, including the horse head 20 and pitman arm assembly 22. For the sake of simplicity and to avoid obscuring details of the base structure 10, the motor and drive equipment which would be mounted on the rear portion of the base for actuating the pitman arm 22 have been omitted from the layout of FIG. 1.

In accordance with the present invention, a relatively stable and self-sufiicient but surprisingly compact base for the mounting of a complete pumping unit is constructed by mounting the usual superstructure, including a tall, substantially vertically extending samson post, on a thick composite steel and concrete base comprising a framework of heavy structural steel beams rigidly locked together in a criss-cross pattern so as to define a series of spaces laterally enclosed by sections of said criss-crossed beams and cast-in place concrete completely bridging enough of said laterally enclosed sections to account for the major portion of the total cross-sectional area of said base. As illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, a representative base structure comprises several long metal I- beams 12 braced together by a series of cross beams 14 suitably welded at the various junction points. Angle iron braces 15 can be added in similar fashion to strengthen the ends of those longitudinal beams which extend out beyond the final cross beam at one end.

As suggested by the plan view of FIG. 2, concrete is simply cast in place in each of the desired separate spaces between adjacent longitudinal and cross beams, preferably after arranging reinforcing rods or other metal reinforcing elements in the spaces to be filled with concrete. Normally, the metal framework of the base will simply be placed on a flat surface and the concrete then simply poured into each desired open space thereof to the desired depth. The choice of sections to be filled and the depth of fill of the concrete in the respective sections can be varied to suit the weight distribution desired in the base and the strength requirements of the various portions of same. Preferably, however, the depth of fill should be at least several inches, ideally at least about 4 inches. Thus, as indicated in the sectional view of FIG. 3, sections 24 and 24 are filled to about one half the total height of the I-beams 12, whereas, as indicated by FIG. 4, section 25 is filled flush to the top of the I-beam framework. Meanwhile, other sections like 26 are left completely open. Concrete in other sections like 27, 28 and 29 can be completely full like section 25, much less than full like sections 24 and 24', or just somewhat less than completely full. When concrete is to be filled completely fiush to the top, later mounting of the superstructure on the base can usually be simplified if small areas around any bolt holes to be used for this purpose are blocked out before the concrete is poured or, at least, before it has set. Good quality concrete should be used adequate to pass at least the 2,000 p.s.i. compressive strength test and preferably the 3,000 p.s.i. test. Any type of suitable reinforcing elements can be used as convenient, including the conventional rod or mesh forms.

Because of the increased bearing area and stability of the composite concrete and steel bases of this invention, pumping units mounted thereon can often be used for certain jobs as free standing uni ts (i.e. substantially unanchored to the ground) and with very little special site preparation needed. In addition, as an unexpected extra advantage it has been discovered that the concrete sections greatly increase the stifiness of the steel beam members in the base and prevent flexing of same to the degree which has often, in the past, been at least partially responsible for breakage in various structural elements 3 mounted thereon. This resistance to beam flexing is especially notable when reinforced concrete is employed. In order to capitalize fully upon this potential extra advantage, concrete should be included between at least 2 of the longitudinal beams at substantially every longitudinal position along the base, as shown in FIG. 2.

It will be evident from the above discussion that the exact area filled with concrete and the depth to which each section of concrete is poured will depend upon a combination of several factors and considerations, such as the purpose for which the unit is to be used, whether it is to be installed with a separate foundation or as a freestanding unit, the size of the base, the height of the pumping unit superstructure, etc. Accordingly, it will be seen that the basic structural design of bases in accordance with the present invention is extremely flexible and lends itself readily to advantageous use with a wide variety of pumping unit types, including not only socalled portable-base units but also more or less standard heavy duty units. Perhaps, however, the most striking embodiment for the present invention lies in its application in so-called portable-base units, where it permits exceptional compactness of form to be achieved. For example, it has been possible in this way to build substantially self-stable units in which the base length is substantially less than the height of the samson post, easily as much as /3 less, especially in the case of certain units requiring a relatively high post.

The specific layout shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 also illustrates some of the secondary features and alternatives which can be used to complement the basic design of the present invention. Thus, instead of leaving those open areas of the base in which concrete is not cast wide open as is indicated with section 26, flat plate members 30 and 30' can be welded or otherwise attached to the bottom of the adjacent beams to form closed-bottom but opentop receptacles into which said or similar free-flowing solids and/or water or other liquids can be introduced after the unit has been shipped to the operating site. Alternatively, a closed reservoir for holding liquids (or liquified gases) such as tank 32 can be built into the base, and provided with a filler plug 34 and a discharge valve 36 if desired. Also, liquids or solids can be introduced on top of the concrete in those spaces such as sections 24 and 24 in which the depth of concrete is less than the height of the beams. In these ways, some additional ballast can be added to the unit after arrival at the site of operation so as to avoid excessive weights in the units as shipped.

EXAMPLE 1 In the case of a small, electric motor-driven pumping unit having a samson post height of about feet, stroke lengths between 24 and 30 inches and an A.P.I. peak torque rating of 16,000 lbs. at 20 strokes/minute, a base was constructed of 6" I-beams with an over-all width of about 4 feet and an over-all length of about 7 feet. By filling roughly 80% of the open spaces between beams in this base with concrete, it was possible to operate this unit without any special site preparation, i.e. by merely placing it on firm flat terrain whether sandy or solid ground. The over-all weight of the unit was about 2 tons not including the counterweights, which usually add about another /2 ton.

Although the most preferred embodiments and applications of the present invention have been specifically set out above, it should be clear that many modifications and variations are possible and that many of the advantages of our invention can still be enjoyed even when the basic features described are combined with other expedients which have been resorted to heretofore, such as auxiliary stabilizers like outriggers, base extensions, cross-ties, separate portable concrete pedestals, or even poured-inplace concrete foundations. Accordingly the scope of the invention is not to be limited by the exemplary constructions and applications described but only by the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A prefabricated base for a portable pumping unit of the walking beam type comprising a series of at least three longitudinal beams aligned substantially parallel to each other and each connected to the adjacent beam in said series by at least three cross members thereby forming a rigid framework of beams and cross members de-' fining a series of separate spaces therebetween which are laterally enclosed by sections of said beams and cross members, each of said beams and cross members having a flange portion at the lower edge thereof extending inwardly into each of said laterally enclosed spaces, and cast-in-' place concrete completely bridging enough of said lat erally enclosed spaces to account for the major portion of the total cross sectional area of the entire base, the

lower face of said concrete substantially coinciding with the lower edge of said beams and cross members.

2. A prefabricated base as in claim 1 in which the concrete is reinforced and has a strength of at least about 2000 psi.

3. A prefabricated base as in claim 1 in which at substantially every avail-able point along the length of said base there is concrete solidly bridging the space between at least two of said longitudinal beams.

4. A prefabricated base as in claim 1 in which some of said laterally enclosed spaces are not filled with concrete but instead are closed at the bottom by a floor member to form receptacles for holding liquids or solids.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 501,914 7/1893 Bruner 248-19 X 543,545 7/1895 Doyle 248-19 X 1,856,000 4/1932 Smith 248-346 X 2,958,778 5/1934 Balduf 248-20 2,200,859 5/1940 Leonard 248-20 2,998,216 8/1961 Hurd 248-19 3,190,041 6/1965 Kimball 52-294 X ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT P. SEIITER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A PREFABRICATED BASE FOR A PORTABLE PUMPING UNIT OF THE WALKING BEAM TYPE COMPRISING A SERIES OF AT LEAST THREE LONGITUDINAL BEAMS ALIGNED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND EACH CONNECTED TO THE ADJACENT BEAM IN SAID SERIES BY AT LEAST THREE CROSS MEMBERS THEREBY FORMING A RIGID FRAMEWORK OF BEAMS AND CROSS MEMBERS DEFINING A SERIES OF SEPARATE SPACES THEREBETWEEN WHICH ARE LATERALLY ENCLOSED BY SECTIONS OF SAID BEAMS AND CROSS MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID BEAMS AND CROSS MEMBERS HAVING A FLANGE PORTION AT THE LOWER EDGE THEREOF EXTENDING INWARDLY INTO EACH OF SAID LATERALLY ENCLOSED SPACES, AND CAST-INPLACE CONCRETE COMPLETELY BRIDGING ENOUGH OF SAID LATERALLY ENCLOSED SPACES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE TOTAL CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF THE ENTIRE BASE, THE LOWER FACE OF SAID CONCRETE SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDING WITH THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID BEAMS AND CROSS MEMBERS. 